Story Created:
Mar 2, 2008 at 5:51 PM EST
Story Updated:
Mar 3, 2008 at 12:14 AM EST
Last season, the West Canada Valley boys basketball team saw its perfect season go to waste at Manley Field House. On Sunday, the again-undefeated Indians survived the arena, holding off Onondaga 66-60 in the Section III, overall Class C championship.
It was by far West Canada's toughest test of its now-24-0 season, as the Indians shot 28% from the field (head coach Steve Porter attributed that to Manley's difficult sightlines, while senior Ben Maxwell credited a slippery floor) and did not pull away until the 4th quarter.
West Canada, the top seed from the C-2 bracket, opened the game by missing a ton of shots, but only trailed 16-14 after the 1st quarter. In the 2nd, Onondaga, the No. 2 seed from C-1, suffered a big blow when all-time leading scorer Latavius Murray received his third personal foul just 52 seconds in, putting him on the bench for the rest of the half. The Tigers momentarily survived, stretching their lead to 24-16, but West Canada came back with a 12-2 run to takes its first lead of the game 28-26 with just over a minute left. The lead did not last long, though, as Onondaga made a driving layup at the buzzer to tie the game at 30 going into the break.
In the 3rd quarter, Murray's return sparked Onondaga to a 39-35 lead, but he got his fourth foul with 3:51 remaining, again putting him on the bench. The Indians again took advantage with an 8-3 run putting them back on top 43-42, but the Tigers re-took the lead 44-43 going into the 4th. But as with all of their close games this season, the Indians managed to pull away in the end, opening the quarter with a 15-5 run to take the lead for good.
West Canada was led by Anthony Ambrose with 15 points, Dan Dekalb had 15 and three steals, Jared Suderley had nine points and 10 rebounds, Ben Maxwell had 10 points and five steals, and Jeff Yaworski pulled down 13 rebounds. Despite playing the equivalent of only about two and a half quarters, Murray led the Tigers with 16 points.
The Indians, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class C, advance to face Section IV Class C winner and 16th-ranked Union Springs in the state regional round next saturday at SUNY Cortland at 7:30. Onondaga, ranked No. 11, ends the season 19-5.
;)
;)
User Agreement